A good investment: A380 preparations at Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) will be among the first airports in the world to be served regularly by the A380. This does not require any construction work on the exisiting runway system. Taxiways are already designed to handle the A380 without problems.

Already in 2005, FRA adapted gate position E9 at Terminal 2 to enable the first A380 airport compatibility tests worldwide. With the modification of E5 completed last fall, a further parking position with three passenger bridges has been available which is optimally equipped to accommodate the Airbus superjumbo. An identically equipped docking position is operational at E2 since August 2007.

At Terminal 1, Frankfurt Airport now also offers a docking position with telescopic passenger bridges for the Airbus superjumbo: At Gate B46, two boarding bridges for the main deck and a third one for the upper deck are available as of immediately. Also Gate B26 is A380-compatible.

Three further handling positions for the Airbus A380 were created with the new C/D concourse which is located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. There will be four additional A380 positions by 2012 in the new Concourse A West. The projected Terminal 3 in the south of the airport will have 6 A380 positions.

The goal is to ensure that the A380 and its 555 passengers are handled just as fast and efficiently as the B 747 jumbo jet. This requires optimization of boarding procedures, gate allocation, and handling procedures as well as construction of new passenger boarding bridges and larger gate rooms. The new spacious gate waiting rooms at Terminal 2 can accommodate up to 800 passengers.

Customized ground-handling technology for the A380 is also available at FRA. Since late 2006 Frankfurt Airport has the new super aircraft tow vehicle AST-1 X 1360. This tow vehicle has three axles and no bar. It weighs 45 tons and has a length of 11.5 meters. Both diesel engines have 680 hp and can tow or push aircraft weighing up to 600 tons. Consequently, the new tow vehicle can move the new Super Airbus A380. Also lift trucks for catering and de-icing vehicles are ready to serve the new generation of aircraft.